This past weekend, we went to Catalina to celebrate the life of and say goodbye to my amazing grandma, who passed away a couple of weeks ago. She lived on the island for many years and I have so many wonderful memories of coming here as a kid! My dad’s cousin, who still lives out there, took us out in the boat to scatter her ashes where she will forever have the perfect view of this beautiful place. We miss you dearly, Grandma. I hope you are resting very peacefully. And if there’s a Publishers Clearing House in heaven, I am 100% sure that you won big the day you arrived ;)

So who is Lindy Tate, you ask?

She is a nice little combo that I made in honor of TMS’s 2nd Birthday and finished just in time to take with me on our little trip! :D

I’m so glad to be a little part of this sewing community! I found The Monthly Stitch right about the same time that I started sewing for myself, and you guys have pushed, challenged, and inspired me ever since! Happy Birthday, TMS!

So I never thought the crop top trend would come back… but I guess everything comes back at some point, right? :/ And did I think I would be sewing myself a crop top at 30? Nope. But here I am, nonetheless.

Luckily (I guess?) another trend I’m still a little unsure about has come back too — high-waisted everything! I remember when I put on my Air Force uniform for the first time, I could not believe how high-waisted my pants were. All of my uniform pants hit me at my rib cage (or higher lol… I have a surprisingly short torso for my height)… so it was good training, I guess. Before that I felt uncomfortable in anything that made it up to my belly button. Oh how times change. :) For the better though… I’m also extremely glad low rise jeans are out of the picture!

For this make, I paired the Lindy Petal Skirt from Itch To Stitch with the Tate Top from Workroom Social (both FREE patterns, which is awesome) :) I cut both from this fun printed Ponte de Roma knit from Cali Fabrics.

For the skirt, I added 2 inches to the length and lined the back piece with a plain ivory cotton spandex from Girl Charlee. It’s a pretty substantial skirt with all those layers! Almost too hot to wear on Catalina!

I cut the cropped version of the Tate Top pattern. I cut my size, but went with the longest length on the pattern piece. I wish I’d gone a little bit longer so I’d feel comfortable wearing it with other things, but it was too late once I realized — and I didn’t have quite enough fabric for another one. I thought about changing up my challenge and cutting the fabric in two different directions for the top and the bottom, but then figured that might be a little much with the already crazy pattern going on. :)

I omitted the zipper in the back of the top since I was using a knit and used bias binding for the arms and neck. I love how the binding turned out in this thick knit… almost like a piping (haha… piping).

The neckline gapes a little bit in the back but other than that I love the fit. I really want to try a woven version of the Tate Top in the full length. It’s a great, simple top.

So there you have it! A two-piece outfit for the “2” challenge. TMS – taking me out of my comfort zone one month at a time :)

And here are a few more pictures from out trip… just because!

(hey… I know that tank! also did you notice the top my sis was wearing in the top photo… handmade wardrobes for the win!) ;)

(isn’t my family adorable?!… love them!)

(check out that dog on the SUP board… just chillin’… LOVE it!) :)

Ugh… such a beautiful place. Can’t wait to go back!

Until next time,